In St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, Detroit, Carter witnesses the miracle of youth returned, and stigmata where none should be. The bleeding statue is no miracle: it is the embodiment of an ancient curse that draws people in by granting their deepest wishes—but at the price of serving an evil force, ultimately paid for with their lives.

In a race against time to get to the bottom of the mystery, Carter and Stella have only the words of old friend and priest Father Malvan to guide them—yet he is long gone, turned monster then to dust.